Stock futures drop amid growth worries

KateGibson

WilliamL. Watts

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures fell further Thursday after economic reports had jobless claims falling by 5,000 to 359,000 last week and gross domestic product rising at a 3% annualized rate in the fourth quarter.

Both reports were slightly disappointing compared to expectations.

“Initial claims still haven’t been able to get below the 350,000 level, pointing to a better but still just OK labor market,” emailed Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak + Co.

U.S. stock futures were already lower as investors braced for more potential consolidation after the market’s recent strong run and amid continuing worries about China’s economic outlook and Europe’s ability to halt the spread of the sovereign-debt crisis, strategists said.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJM2
fell 38 points to 13,015.

“Retail volumes in recent days have been light as investors predict more of a pullback for stocks,” said Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at Interactive Investor in London, in emailed comments.

“The markets have had a terrific run of late, so a drop was always inevitable. The catalysts at the fore being sliding global growth stemming from China and prompting anticipation of even deeper misery for the euro zone,” he said.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to deliver the last in a series of lectures on the history of the central bank at 12:45 p.m. Eastern.

Equity markets

European equities were under pressure Thursday, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) falling 0.8%. Spain was witnessing a national strike against the government’s austerity drive, a day before the presentation of a new budget plan. Europe Markets.

Spanish and European Union officials on Wednesday denied local news reports that the country had been urged to seek bailout funds from the EU and the International Monetary Fund to speed the restructuring of its banking sector. Spain’s national strike.

Asian shares dropped sharply Thursday, with commodity firms under pressure around the region.

Among stocks that could be in focus Thursday, Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG
RHHBY, -0.50%
(ROG) on Thursday increased its unsolicited offer to buy U.S. gene-sequencing company Illumina Inc.
ILMN, +0.59%
to $51 a share, valuing the company at more than $6.5 billion. Roche previously offered $44.50 a share. Illumina responded by saying its shareholders should “take no action at this time.” Roche ups Illumina bid.

U.S. stocks fell for a second session on Wednesday, with the Dow industrials
DJIA, -0.67%
falling 71.52 points to close at 13,126.21. The S&P 500
SPX, -0.55%
lost 6.98 points to 1,405.54, while the Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP, -0.22%
declined 15.39 points to 3,104.96.

In energy trading Thursday, crude futures
CLK2, +0.18%
slipped 21 cents to $105.21 a barrel in electronic trading. French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Thursday told French radio he was optimistic about prospects for an agreement between the U.S. and Europe on the release of strategic oil stockpiles, but he warned that consumers “shouldn’t expect miracles on fuel prices.”

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